Each December since I-don’t-know-when, I enjoy speculating over what the best Super Bowl matchup would be from an entertainment perspective. Oftentimes that doesn’t mean both top seeds from the AFC and NFC making it to February (as was the case last month), but what game will create the biggest buzz, controversy and hype. This year, I saw that matchup not as Seahawks-Patriots (Richard Sherman is so 2014), but Cowboys-Patriots instead. Just the presence of Tony Romo and all the buildup around his legacy (which has taken a very unfair rap as a choker in big spots despite stats to the...

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, winds up his exploratory presidential campaign weekend in New York tonight - on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers. The appearance, which was not announced by his political staff, concludes a whirlwind trip to South Carolina and New Hampshire. On Saturday afternoon, Cruz started with a speech at the South Carolina National Security Action Summit, followed by a hop to the Granite State Sunday for the “Strafford County Republican Committee Chili and Chat with Sen. Cruz.” Then it was the Grafton County Lincoln Day Dinner and this morning’s "Politics and Eggs" breakfast at the New Hampshire...

A theme that dramas and soap operas have dwelled on is the spats people can have over what their ancestors may leave for them. Life imitates art has been my experience seeing relatives squabble over the dead carcasses, but some have taken the issue to heart in a new television series on the Fox Business Network (FBN) called Strange Inheritance. The episodes I watched did not involve fisticuffs, but they incorporate many of the same decisions that one has to confront upon the death of a loved one. First, there are the wishes of the dear departed. What did the...

The British actor will reportedly star as a conservative Italian-American pontiff in The Young Pope Jude Law is in negotiations to play a fictional pope in a TV series about the first Italian-American pontiff in history, according to unconfirmed reports.According to reports in the Italian media, Law is in talks to play the lead in The Young Pope, the new series by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, whose film, The Great Beauty, won an Oscar in 2014 for best film in a foreign language.Tony Grisoni, one of the co-writers on the series, told Variety that The Young Pope will be...

Leonard Nimoy—the famed actor synonymous with Star Trek’s iconic Mr. Spock—died on Feb. 27. He leaves behind two children, a storied career and one of the most recognizable characters in pop culture. He’s also a reminder of a different era in America—the years after World War II when the military was more connected to the public, and when it wasn’t so strange for an actor to be a soldier at the same time. In the early ’50s, Nimoy was just another hungry actor with parents who worried he’d never have a real job. So he did what a lot of...

SURVIVE MY WILDERNESS : Nationwide Type: Reality TV NOW CASTING: The Producers of Naked and Afraid are seeking Families who want to live OFF THE GRID in ALASKA! A Major Network with the Producers of Naked and Afraid are looking for families with 2+ kids (ideally ages 2-18) who want a more authentic lifestyle where there’s actual value in your work and family time is more than just 15 minutes in the car on the way to school. Should you be chosen for the show, you and your family will move to Alaska for 3 months (as of now, August-November)...

If you want to see a blind Iraq war veteran from Tampa go hunting, tune into the Sportsman Channel Thursday night at 9 p.m. Joel Tavera, who was severely burned, suffered traumatic brain injury, lost part of his right leg, the sight in both his eyes and the fingers on his left hand on March 12, 2008 when a rocket exploded near his armored Chevrolet Suburban inside Talil Air Base in Iraq, will be one of three area veterans appearing on Amazing America with Sarah Palin. “It was awesome,” said Tavera of being on the show. Tavera shoots with the...

When Taylor Swift throws shade, you know it. Yet, the Internet had a field day when the "Shake It Off" singer was seated next to Sarah Palin Sunday during the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Show. But, despite multiple accusations of eye rolling and/or serious side eye directed at the former vice presidential hopeful, Taylor didn't cast any devious glances in studio 8H. If you look at a wider audience shot, you'll see that Taylor (and almost every other individual seated in the area surrounding her) was looking up at the monitors showing what viewers at home saw of Dakota...

Victoria Jackson, a six-year veteran of Saturday Night Live, is publicly wondering if her opposition to gay marriage prompted Lorne Michaels to treat her differently than the other cast members who attended the 40th anniversary of the show Sunday. Jackson, on her Facebook page, Twitter and in interviews, has mostly raved about Michaels and thanked the creator of SNL numerous times for hiring her in 1986, though she is also saying that she was the only castmember at Sunday's event to be banished to an overflow room. Some bloggers noted the oddity and were wondering if Michaels or someone else...

Sound Concepts installs the largest Elan g! system ever in 43,000-square-foot home featured in 'Amazing America with Sarah Palin' and 'Clash of the Ozarks' cable TV shows. Home amenities include a tanning room, golf simulator and deer processing plant. How do you get your home or technology installation featured on national television? Make it enormous, make it impressive and create an original house that blows people away. Having recently appeared on both Discovery Channel’s “Clash of the Ozarks” and Sportsman Channel’s “Amazing America with Sarah Palin,” this Arkansas residence has many unique and luxurious features, including the largest ELAN g!...

<p>Sarah Palin during an audience question-and-answer session at the "Saturday Night Live" 40th-anniversary special last week.</p>
<p>Sarah Palin in 2016?</p>
<p>Even she thinks that’s a joke.</p>
<p>The former vice-presidential candidate made her final transition to pure celebrity and political punch line on Sunday night, when Lorne Michaels’s “Saturday Night Live” celebrated its 40th birthday with a comic extravaganza that became NBC Entertainment’s top-rated show in more than a decade.</p>

(VIDEO-AT-LINK) Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's receiving encouragement to run for president from an unlikely source Â— Rev. Al Sharpton. The MSNBC host and civil rights leader tweeted that during a meeting on the red carpet at the 40th anniversary episode of Saturday Night Live on Sunday, he encouraged Palin on Twitter to make a bid for the White House Â— but not with the intention of winning. Reverend Al Sharpton âœ” @TheRevAl I saw Sarah Palin on the red carpet and we talked to Xtra together. I urged her to run in 2016 and help the Democrats out. 9:24...

What parent would cozy up with his daughter to watch her in a graphic sex scene? Brian Williams did. As the mainstream media erupts over Williams’ fish tales about downed helicopters, dead bodies floating in flood-swamped streets of New Orleans and burning puppies, another one of news anchor’s bizarre behaviors is going unnoticed. If NBC is embarrassed by its managing editor's fibs, what about Williams’s kinky voyeurism when it comes to his actress-daughter's explicit sex-capades on HBO? Katrina and helicopter lies are only the tip of the iceberg. Williams is not only a liar, he looks to be one sick...

In the least shocking news to hit the industry this week, Rosie O’Donnell is leaving The View after a much-hyped return less-than-a-hockey-season ago. Not to end-zone dance or anything–because this choice was so obviously doomed from the start–but Ms. O’Donnell not being able to revive a sinking franchise could be seen from a mile away (as was her mental meltdown). As mentioned in this space, sequels invariably fail (at least critically compared to the original…with a few exceptions) in the entertainment world. O’Donnell is a living, breathing, 50-something sequel. And in the end, her departure is a product of classic...

Bill Maher ended his show tonight finally talking about Sarah Palin‘s rambling Iowa speech that was the final straw for many Republicans and conservatives. But Maher had just one question for them: “What took you so long?!” Maher mocked the revelation as an “emperor has no clues” situation and asked Republicans why they took so long, saying, “The rest of us have been watching this dog eat grass for seven years!” However, while Maher was glad that many conservatives are finally admitting Palin “is a crazy person,” he said they should maybe consider what else they’ve been “wrong” about, like...

Writing for the Baltimore Sun, media journalist David Zurawik called for Brian Williams to resign or to be fired by Friday. “If credibility means anything to NBC News, Brian Williams will no longer be managing editor and anchor of the evening newscast by the end of the day Friday,” Zurawik writes. Wednesday evening, after being caught lying, the Nightly News anchor admitted that for the last 12 years he has repeatedly lied about being shot down in a helicopter over Iraq.

Jewish community leader trapped inside Auschwitz concentration camp after getting locked in while filming a television show on the 70th anniversary of its liberation. The head of Rome’s Jewish community found himself locked into Auschwitz on Tuesday night and then arrested when he tried to escape. Riccardo Pacifici was doing a television interview after the ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the camp’s liberation, when he realised the camp’s gates had been closed. Mr Pacifici was locked in with Jewish community spokesman Fabio Perugia, the television host and two technicians. Mr Pacifici, whose grandparents died in the camp, spent...

I'm going to confess an unpopular opinion (among liberals at least) and say that as much as I enjoy The Daily Show, Jon Stewart is usually not that good an interviewer when it comes to political figures. He's about two-thirds of a good interviewer—there are always some good questions, but he usually misses opportunities to ask critical follow-ups, and when his interviewee is struggling, he'll often jump in with a joke. Which is his job, of course—it's a comedy show, and he's a comedian—but it also has the effect of letting his subject off the hook. Last night though, Stewart...

When President Barack Obama speaks tonight during his State of the Union address, all Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will be hearing is actor Christopher Walken’s iconic voice. Asked by a reporter Tuesday whether he found anything to like in Obama’s proposal to impose new fees on big banks, Politico reported that Cruz compared the president’s ideas to Walken’s most famous “Saturday Night Live” sketch where the actor plays a music producer. “To every problem his solution was, ‘more cowbell, more cowbell.’ This president, to every problem his solution is ‘more taxes, more government,'” Cruz said. “He’s not listening to the...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)On Monday’s “The Daily Show,” host Jon Stewart scolded former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) for quitting his Saturday night Fox News show to take another shot at the White House as a Republican candidate. According to Stewart, Huckabee had made a mistake and should go to back to Fox News and be a show host. Partial transcript as follows: STEWART: I want to talk to you. This is — the book is called “God, Guns, Grits and Gravy.” You have a show on Fox News — you had a show. HUCKABEE: I had a show. STEWART: How long did you...

FTVLive told you yesterday that Fox News and Dish Network had ended their retrans dispute and FNC has returned to the Dish bird. As we predicted, the terms of the new deal weren’t disclosed. However, people familiar with the talks said Dish is paying a significant increase for Fox News, which is one of the most popular networks, not just among news channels but entertainment and sports services as well. According to research firm SNL Kagan, the average monthly fee for Fox News is currently about $1.00 per subscriber. Under terms of the new pact, the price Dish would pay...

One look at the political history of Dish Network founder and Chairman Charles Ergen places the idea that the network dropped Fox News over a simple contract dispute in serious doubt. Since Dec. 20, when the Dish network dropped Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, the former has lost about 90,000 subscribers. The Media Research Center’s Dan Joseph decided to take a look at OpenSecrets documents revealing Ergen’s political donations from last year, which immediately raised some red flags. Ergen donated a total of $64,000 to the Democratic Senatorial campaign Committee, according to the report. As Joseph writes, Ergen’s donating record obviously doesn’t prove he...

Complete Headline: EXCLUSIVE: The beginning of the end for Rosie and Whoopi as ABC considers abandoning The View and extending Good Morning America as infighting grows and ratings plunge The View is dimming at the show that Barbara Walters built. Network insiders tell Daily Mail Online that the long-running talk show could end after this season, amid struggling ratings and infighting among the talk show hosts. Currently in its eighteenth season, the show created by retired TV journalist Barbara Walters is suffering some of its lowest ratings ever with its new team of Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O'Donnell, Nicolle Wallace and...

You don’t usually here denunciations of “deranged neocons” on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, but HBO star Lena Dunham uncorked this attack on her Twitter enemies to Ryan Seacrest on the E! Network. Seacrest noted that her show “Girls” began its fourth season on Sunday night, and he asked if she would be checking for online reaction:(VIDEO-AT-LINK)LENA DUNHAM: I deleted Twitter because I tried to create a safer space for me emotionally. RYAN SEACREST: Explain. DUNHAM: People threaten my life and tell me what I cow I am, so I decided....I check it occasionally but it’s not the...

Primetime TV Shows That Flopped Find International Success On Viki As a global TV site, Viki doesn’t just offer subtitles to make popular TV shows understandable, it’s now helping shows that don’t do well in their home countries capture loyal fans from unsuspecting places in the world. Filipino shows, for example, are finding success in Japan. When the Japanese film, “Tragedy of W” first aired in 1984, it flopped in its home country, but was a hit once it appeared on Viki—particularly in Europe. Similarly, the Korean TV show, “Playful Kiss,” didn’t take off in Korea initially, but is now...

Donna Douglas -- who famously portrayed Elly May Clampett on the legendary 60s TV series "The Beverly Hillbillies" -- passed away Thursday at her home in Louisiana with friends and family by her side. Douglas' granddaughter confirmed the death to TMZ. Donna starred on "The Beverly Hillbillies" for all nine seasons and even returned for the 1981 reunion TV movie.

Oprah Winfrey has been watching the protests in Ferguson and New York like everyone else. "I think it's wonderful to march and to protest and it's wonderful to see all across the country, people doing it," she tells PEOPLE exclusively. But it's not enough to march, says Winfrey. "What I'm looking for is some kind of leadership to come out of this to say, 'This is what we want. This is what has to change, and these are the steps that we need to take to make these changes, and this is what we're willing to do to get it.'"...

Just a few years ago, underemployed TV writers were complaining that reality programming was taking over their industry. Now the scribes are having their revenge: Unscripted programming is mired in an unexpected slump. Onetime smashes such as "Survivor" and "Dancing With the Stars" are drooping with age. Coca-Cola recently wrapped up its 13-year sponsorship of "American Idol" after Fox's singing hit plummeted in the ratings last season. NBC's own singing show, "The Voice," saw its season finale drop nearly 10% this month. And what's worse, no new hits are taking their place.

Remember the old Christmas commercials? The one that just popped into my head was the old Folger's commercial where college age Peter comes home and makes morning coffee for the family. That commercial made a come back Christmas after Christmas for years years.

Joseph Sargent, who directed The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and MacArthur for the big screen and captured three Emmys for his telefilm work, died Monday at his home in Malibu from the lung disease COPD, publicist Dick Guttman announced. He was 89 ... In addition to the taut New York City subway hostage drama The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) starring Walter Matthau and the 1977 biopic MacArthur toplined by Gregory Peck, Sargent directed the features The Hell With Heroes (1968) starring Rod Taylor; White Lightning (1973) with Burt Reynolds; and Jaws: The Revenge (1987) ... He gained...

The year is winding down with some good TV news: The amoral biker-gang drama "Sons of Anarchy" has ended its seven-year run on the cable channel FX, after a final season drenched in pointless sex and violence. Jax, the leader of the gang, shot a bunch of his enemies dead and then drove his motorcycle straight into the oncoming grill of a semi truck. The show wound down into a relentless deathfest. Jax shot his mother dead, because she stabbed his wife in the neck with a barbecue fork. Most of the cast was slaughtered. And for what? It all...

"Extra's" Charissa Thompson caught up with Sarah Palin on location for her Sportsman Channel show "Amazing America," where Palin opened up about running for president in 2016. Palin explained, "2016 is a long time away… that's a big darn deal when it comes to family." Thompson asked, "Hillary Clinton's name has been floating out there for a long time as the Democratic nominee. Are we ready for that?" Sarah responded, "I would love to see a woman on both sides of the aisle shooting for that top spot." As for the second season of "Amazing America with Sarah Palin," Palin...

You won’t likely see MSNBC host Rachel Maddow filling in for Brian Williams on “NBC Nightly News.” While Maddow is usually described as the “host” of a cable news show, she is rarely called a “news anchor.” Her own NBC bio describes her as a “host”–and never even uses the word “journalist.” So it’s worth noting that a new MSNBC promo flips the script, describing Maddow as a “news anchor with a big personality. She’s smart, funny and passionate.” Conservative critics immediately jumped on the promo, noting that previous “Lean Forward” promos for MSNBC included hosts like Maddow talking about...

Joe Scarborough is mad as hell and not etc. “Someone needs to tell me why Michael Brown has been chosen as the face of black oppression,” Scarborough said, arguing the left’s martyrdom of Brown mirrored the right’s lionization of George Zimmerman. “There are so many great people to embrace as heroes in the black community, that deciding you’re going to embrace a guy who knocked over a convenience store and then according to a Grand Jury testimony acted in ways that would get my children shot? …That’s your hero? That’s the reason you want to burn down black businesses?…Really? This...

While discussing The View on Tuesday's Wendy Williams Show, Joy Behar called Nicolle Wallace “a day at the beach” in comparison to her predecessor Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck, who has since moved on to a cozy job with Fox News Channel, was known for her conservative opinions, which often resulted in heated debates between her and the show’s other hosts. Wallace, who has been labeled a conservative, peculiarly finds herself in the favorable opinion of Behar: "I like that little Republican over there. Nicole [Wallace]," Behar said of The View's newest co-host. "You know, I have dealt with Elisabeth Hasselbeck and...

Fifty years ago this Thanksgiving the crew of the starship Enterprise walked in front of cameras for the first time and began filming on a new sci-fi show that would make television history: "Star Trek". But the results of the day's filming weren't seen in their intended form for more than 20 years -- and the legendary show nearly didn't make it to the screen at all. The brainchild of former bomber pilot and police officer turned television writer Gene Roddenberry, "Star Trek" was planned to be a utopian sci-fi show featuring a diverse crew exploring the galaxy. It began...

Rachel Racusen joins MSNBC as VP of Communications, replacing Lauren Skowronski MSNBC has hired Rachel Racusen to be its Vice President of Communications, President Phil Griffin announced Friday. She will start on December 8th. Racusen comes from the Obama White House, where she last served as Associate Communications Director. Other roles she undertook included Deputy Communications Director for the president's re-election campaign; Deputy Communications Director for the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Committee, and Director of Public Affairs for FEMA, where she led response efforts to Hurricane Irene among other natural disasters. “I'm thrilled to add Rachel to our senior team,” Griffin...

It’s been some time since Roy Clark could bound out onto a stage like a puppy just turned loose, brandishing an electric guitar and a joyous smile, ready to captivate a crowd with his personality and talent. Friday night, it took him a number of slow and careful steps, and the assistance of a cane and a couple of colleagues, to make his way to a chair on the small stage of Tulsa’s Spotlight Theater. Once he settled himself, Clark said, “I have to be careful I don’t...,” and he gave audience a comically knowing look, “...make an entrance. Which...

The Duck Dynasty family has made the news partially due to their politically incorrect statements, and Phil Robertson tends to be the largest contribute to soundbites. But now, Phil’s son has taken the stump and is declaring that it’s possible that America could collapse just like the Roman empire. In a related report by the Inquisitr, Phil Robertson believes that Bibles and guns are the answer to any American’s woes. The Duck Commander patriarch also had a dire warning for Sadie Robertson’s boyfriend, saying that if they do not keep it in their pants, then he would “break” them. Phil...

Editor's Note: This column was co-authored by Tim Graham.While Obama's Federal Communications Commission obsesses over liberal concerns like the under-regulation of the Internet and whether "Redskins" is a profanity, broadcast television is sleazier than ever. As The Hollywood Reporter recently noted, "Nearly two months into the fall, it's clear that explicit jokes and boundary-pushing storylines are changing the definition of what sexual content is acceptable in primetime." For example, the Sept. 16 season premiere of the Fox sitcom "New Girl" featured star Zooey Deschanel repeatedly muttering "sex fist" as a motto for five friends all succeeding at casual sex after...

Fox News and potential presidential candidate Ben Carson went their separate ways last week. Is Fox host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee next? The tension between Huckabee's current job and possible future job has been laid bare in a number of recent news stories. Huckabee, who sought the Republican nomination for president in 2008, is clearly considering a second run -- which would mean he'd have to give up his Saturday night show on Fox News. On Wednesday, Fox News executive vice president of programming Bill Shine indicated that a decision might be made soon. "We are taking a...

CNN International will stop broadcasting in Russia before December 31, according to a letter the channel’s managing company distributed to Russian cable operators. The letter from Turner Broadcasting System Europe obtained by TASS and Vedomosti newspaper did not state the reasons for the move. General Director at Turner Broadcasting System Russia Tatyana Kalita declined to comment on the issue, TASS reported.

Evangelicals are mobilizing for the midterms.Pundits may be declaring the culture wars over, but conservative Christians are donning their battle gear and rushing back to the front lines. In recent months, a coalition of conservative evangelical organizations has been pursuing an aggressive voter mobilization campaign that involves a combination of high-tech tools, briefings for pastors, and rallies simulcast to mega-churches around the country. The goal of these gatherings is to drum up outrage over recent political skirmishes, including the Hobby Lobby lawsuit, and to persuade believers that their religious freedoms are under attack by ungodly forces. During one recent event,...

This is Iraq under a future Islamic state, as imagined in “State of Superstition,” a hit comedy on state-run Al Iraqiya TV. The half-hour show turns a deadly serious subject — the reign of terror imposed by the extremist group Islamic State in parts of Iraq and Syria — into fodder for spoof and satire. The Beheader character is a comic takedown of Abu Bakr Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed caliph and Islamic State leader. An actor in a preposterously long and tangled fake beard — one of a couple of dozen fake beards glued on to characters each episode by an...

TLC's "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" is ending its run. On Friday, TMZ reported that the network has canceled the series in light of claims that the program's newly separated matriarch, June "Mama June" Shannon, is dating Mark Anthony McDaniel, a man who served 10 years in prison after being convicted of aggravated child molestation in 2004 and who is a registered sex offender.

Bill O’Reilly spent a significant part of his first segment tonight decrying the “racism” accusations being thrown by some MSNBC commentators amidst nationwide Ebola panic. O’Reilly did not directly call out MSNBC in his Talking Points Memo, but it was very clearly aimed at them, since he had teased the segment with a clip of Alex Wagner saying some Republican comments on Ebola, including calling for a travel ban is “not even thinly-veiled racism.” And that wasn’t the first time someone on MSNBC had invoked racism in talking about a travel ban; a guest on Melissa Harris-Perry‘s show did so...

The actor documents the St. Louis protests on social media. Some celebrities simply tweet about what moves them, while others, like “Grey’s Anatomy” star Jesse Williams, get right on the front lines. Jesse, along with members of the Question Bridge: Black Males video project team, joined protesters from across the country who traveled to St. Louis, Missouri, this weekend for #FergusonOctober, which seeks justice for the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown and victims of police brutality like him. “We’ll be archiving the thoughts and concerns of the people and recording Black males asking and answering the questions that matter to...

FNC celebrates a quarter with the most-watched primetime across the cable dial, while MSNBC slides below CNN in the demo. No one would say the summer of 2014 suffered any shortage of breaking news. From the crisis in Ferguson, Mo., to the cultural impact of Robin Williams' and Joan Rivers' sudden deaths and all the way up to recent round-the-clock coverage of U.S. strikes on ISIS, cable news has been heavily occupied. The last three months have been so big, Fox News Channel just clocked its first quarter with the most-watched primetime across all of cable in more than a...